


Chemistry

by 1Direction2MyHeart



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 09:14:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1299616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1Direction2MyHeart/pseuds/1Direction2MyHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU where each of the boys are from different cliques, but are paired together for their final chem lab project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chemistry

Diiiiiiing. The seventh period bell rang, and students began to swarm the halls of Candlewood High School. It was the beginning of June, and students seemed pretty checked out and ready for summer. Warm days greeted them as they fled campus following the ninth period bell each day, and kids zoomed out of the school parking lot, eager to be anywhere but there. While they could get away with day dreaming and doodling in some classes, chemistry was one exception. And chemistry was next.

“Good afternoon, class,” said Mr. Haverforth, as he began taking attendance.

“Zayne?”

“Here,” Zayne mumbled, fumbling to grab a notebook and pen from his tattered backpack, lined with skateboard and snowboard stickers. Chemistry was not Zayne’s forté – he was totally disinterested in school, preferring to be outdoors than confined to the four walls of Candlewood High. His crew met at the skate park every day after school, smoking cigarettes and trying out new tricks. He was counting down the minutes until he could be there.

“Harry?” Mr. Haverforth called next.

“Present,” Harry joked, eliciting giggles from the pack of girls sitting behind him. Girls fawned over Harry, captain of the football team. Not only was he dating the head cheerleader, but he was a total flirt – every girl at Candlewood threw themselves at him. He was at the top of the social food chain, and he knew it.

“Niall?”

“Hello,” said Niall, in his thick accent. Niall was the school’s newest transfer student, coming to Candlewood all the way from Ireland. Though girls urged him to speak just so they could here his “adorable” accent, he hadn’t really found his place yet.

“Liam?” called Mr. Haverforth.

“Here, Mr. Haverforth,” Liam replied formally. Liam was the class President, a very prestigious position at Candlewood. Mr. Haverforth thought he was destined to do great things, a model student. Liam had a goody-two-shoes reputation, which he earned through his devotion to academics, his decision not to drink, and his strict moral code.

Mr. Haverforth read off a dozen more names, finishing with, “Louis?”

“Thaaaat’s me,” Louis sang, as the class chuckled. Mr. Haverforth was not a fan of Louis – he was the class clown and took nothing seriously. Louis was known for his sassy comments, quick wit, and practical jokes – popular amongst the students, but not so much amongst the faculty.

“Okay, that’s enough everyone. We have a lot to cover today – I’ll be discussing your final project,” Mr. Haverforth explained, passing out a description of the assignment. “You’ll be working in groups of five, completing a complicated set of chemical reactions in a lab setting. Let’s get to assigning the lab groups!” Mr. Haverforth exclaimed, truly excited.

“Group 1 – Greg, Hannah, Beth, Michael, and Carrie. Group 2 – Sydney, George, Stephanie, Kyle, Jenny. Group 3 – Niall, Zayne, Harry, Liam, Louis. Group 4 – Nicole, Jeremy, Rebecca, Claire, Marcus. Okay, now everyone go ahead and meet with your groups, look over the assignment, and prepare yourselves! You will be conducting the lab portion of the final exam in class tomorrow.”

Hesitantly, Louis, Niall, Zayne, Harry, and Liam headed towards the lab table in the far right corner of the classroom.

“Already guys, we really need to get to work,” Liam declared, frantically. His thoughts were already churning, recognizing the complexity of the task at hand.

“Calm down, dude,” Zayne muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Louis was creating a pyramid out of the beakers, not paying any attention.

“Oh man, it’s gunna fall!” Harry cried, as the beakers began to tip over.

Nial caught the glassware just as they were about to hit the table and shatter.

“Well, this is gunna be interesting,” Harry noted.

Liam began furiously taking notes.

“Okay, so in order to create HC2H3O2, I think we need to combine 25 mL of CH4, 75 mL of H20, and 50 mL H2O2 over a Bunsen burner. Then we need to slowly add in 50 mL of Zn and 100 mL CuSO4. Then we need to let it sit for 5 minutes, and separately combine 50 mL of vinegar and 1 gram of baking powder. Then I think we need to combine both compounds?”

“Sounds good,” Niall stated, confidently. “Science is waaay more intense in the States than it is Ireland, I’ll tell you that much.”

“Harry, are you paying any attention?” Liam asked, frustrated.

“Ya, dude. Got it,” Harry stuttered, clearly taken off guard. He shoved his phone into his pocket, trying to hide the fact that he had been texting every girl in his phone book.

“Well, looks like Liam’s totally taken the reigns on this one, so see y’all tomorrow! Should be great,” Louis laughed, packing up his books as the bell began to ring.

“Wait, guys….we should meet tonight to discuss the lab a little bit more,” Liam trailed off, as the rest of his group bolted out of the classroom.

The next day, when seventh period rolled around, Group 3 was definitely not prepared for their chem lab final. Liam had been up all night trying to memorize formulas and reactions; Zayne had hit up the skate park until the wee hours of the night; Harry had a grueling football practice; Louis spent the evening causing mayhem at the mall while he was _supposed_ to be buying his mom a birthday gift; Niall passed out at 8 PM, still burnt out from American school hours.

“Alright everyone, meet with your groups, and begin your synthesis. At the end of the period, I’ll come around and see which groups were able to create the proper compound using the chemicals provided. Good luck!”

Liam began pacing around the lab table. “Okay, so…let me think. If I remember correctly, we have to add 50 mL of CH4…no wait, was it 25 mL?”

“Dude, we trust you,” Harry said smoothly, kicking his feet up.

“No, we totally need to add some of this – this shit is awesome!” exclaimed Louis, picking up a beaker filled with a misty blue substance.

“NO, DON’T!” Liam screamed, just as Louis began jokingly pouring the chemical into the beaker of CH4.

BOOOOM. The glass shattered, there was a huge spark, and the five boys at the lab table jumped back. The chemical combination created a mini-explosion, charring all of their equipment, chemicals, and papers.

“WHAT IS GOING ON BACK HERE?” Mr. Haverforth yelled. “All of you – F! Chemistry is no _JOKE_. This is serious stuff we’re working with!”

“Oh my god. No, we can’t fail. I’ve never failed anything in my life,” Liam muttered, on the verge of tears.

“I hope you boys know what this means,” Mr. Haverforth cried.

“Summer school,” they all whispered in unison, bowing their heads, dreading the next two months to come with four other boys they had _nothing_ in common with.

 

 

 

 


End file.
